Demon's Run
by flames4thought
Summary: Set after S8:"Death in Heaven." Clara stops travelling with the Doctor after Danny's death. In despair the Doctor travels to Toronto, Canada where the mysterious Security Revelations Co. sells protection from demons to the general population. Doctor paired with male companion, non-slash.
1. Gone

A/N - Hi everyone! This is my first fan fiction. It takes place just after Death in Heaven and the Doctor leaves the UK and travels to Canada. Canada because... well, I know the terrain better. The Doctor finds a new companion - male - because I honestly loved Capt. Jack and I don't think the producers/writers of the series give the idea of a male companion enough attention. I'm not sure how quickly I will update. Probably not very often but I'll try my best to update in a timely fashion. Anyway, please be nice and review.

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any characters or plots that appear in the BBC series.

* * *

"Danny's gone, Clara," the Doctor says gruffly, "I'm so sorry. I really am. I tried…"

Clara's arms are crossed. Never a good sign. It always means he's in for a lecture. They're standing in her bedroom again. The TARDIS is parked by the door, blocking most of it but someone could squeeze by if they tried hard enough. "Clara," he says, "He made a decision, he decided to send the boy home instead. He chose death."

Clara's face clenches and then dissolves as she breaks down in tears. "Danny…" she sobs helplessly. Her arms fall limply to her waist, clutching it like it's the only thing keeping her upright. "Why did I call him?" she screams, "It's all my fault! I could have waited for him in my flat. I could have talked to him in person but I thought it would be easier on the phone. I thought…"

"You thought you would screw everything up if he was there in front of you when you told him. I know, Clara," the Doctor says gently, "Please believe me. I know and I gave him the option to come back… but he didn't. I'm sorry. So sorry." Clara shakes her head, sobbing harder and collapses slowly to the ground. The Doctor kneels beside her. His skills in comforting others have never been good and since he (almost) destroyed Gallifrey he doesn't have the patience or the empathy to comfort anyone. Now though, he wishes that he knew what to do to help Clara.

"You could've just left him!" Clara screams, "I would have gotten over losing him. I may not have loved again but at least I would have only lost him once."

The Doctor reaches out to touch Clara. He places a hand on her shoulder. "If I could make it up to you I would," he whispers softly, "You know that right?"

Clara looks up at him, her eyes hardening. Tears still stream down her face but she isn't sobbing anymore. "Get out," she whispers, "I never want to see you again. I can't do this. He wanted me to give this up ages ago and I couldn't. Now I can. I am. So get out."

"Clara," the Doctor protests, "Please, we could go somewhere. Take your mind off it…"

"No," she snaps, "Get out. I won't. I won't do this anymore." She shakes his hand off her shoulder violently and gets up.

The Doctor shakes his head. "GET OUT!" she screams, "Please, this is the only thing. The only way… Just go." She grabs his arm and pulls, trying to make him move… to leave. The idea is incomprehensible to him. He thought of all his companions Clara would be the one who finally stayed. She had continued travelling with him even after Danny found out and said he didn't like the idea of her going all over space and time with the Doctor.

Still shaking his head the Doctor stands up. Clara shoves him toward the TARDIS. "Go," she whispers, "You have Gallifrey now. You found it. They need you. Please. Go."

The Doctor opens his mouth to tell her Missy lied. That the coordinates Missy gave him had found him staring into empty space. He didn't though. Clara didn't want to know and he'd lied to her about it earlier. She thought his pain was healed after all this time, while hers was still a raw open wound. No wonder she wanted him to leave. "Ok Clara," he says finally, "I'll go. If you want to talk though, you have my number." He walks to the TARDIS and opens the door, turning to look at her crying behind him.

*DW*

The Doctor wanders through time and space for months. Clara left him. His last companion, he swears. It hurts too much when they leave for him to find someone else. Rose… Donna… Amy and Rory… In the end none of them were better off for having met him. Rose was in an alternate universe, Donna had no memory of him, Amy and Rory were trapped in the past… And yet, for all the pain he brings them and they bring him, it is easier than travelling alone. Because he is always alone now, and sometimes he catches himself muttering to himself under his breath, talking to thin air.

And yet, it always surprises him how they come into his life. Just when he has sworn there will not be another, someone else steps from the shadows to intrigue him. For in their own ways they are all novelties… mysteries to be unravelled with careful fingers – not too fast or they'll take flight.

He finds himself fascinated with little things. The glint of her hair in the sunlight… The way she bites her lip before she asks him a question about the TARDIS... The curve of his hand as he cradles his instrument, fingers dancing up and down its neck, bow tip glinting in ever changing light…

Not all of them are women but enough are to make him suspect he is searching for something he lost when he was younger… when Gallifrey fell. None of them has ever been his lover though. How could they be? How could they accept his many faces… the many facets of his life that they cannot hope to ever see, experience, or understand? He has fallen too far for the trivialities of love. He would only hurt them in the end, although he fears he does anyway. Sometimes it feels like they're just creased paperbacks with smudged pages and broken backs, discarded carelessly over his shoulder.

Because you can't travel with the Doctor forever. He is ageless, or very nearly, and they are mortal. And while the inevitable can be postponed for a good long while, eventually they have to live the lives they need to live – emptier perhaps for the adventures he took them on and the strange sights they saw. But leave him they will and so it goes on.

*DW*

The months pass slowly. The Doctor refrains from visiting Earth, at least in the present because he is afraid it will bring him face to face with Clara… But he can't hide in the future or the past forever and eventually he realizes he has to return the present on Earth. He can't bring himself to land the TARDIS in London, UK as he normally does though, and instead chooses to bring the TARDIS down somewhere where there would be no chance of him even catching sight of Clara.

The TARDIS wheezes in its familiar litany of noise as it lands on the corner of a busy street. The Doctor watches as people scurry past the blue box disguising the TARDIS' true nature. He never did get how people could just not notice when it appeared.

"Ok," he mutters, staring at the screen that showed what was going on outside the Police Box. A couple of people were looking at it curiously but for the most part ignoring it like they normally did. He scans what he can see of the skyline and pauses when he catches sight of the tall narrow tower with a bulb near the top. "What's that?" he mutters, checking the scans and finally looking at the location. Toronto, Canada… so that's the CN Tower, he thinks. He wonders briefly, why the TARDIS landed in Toronto before dismissing it out of hand. He'd decided not to land in the UK, so the TARDIS was obviously respecting his wishes for once.

He continues to mutter to himself for a while as he checks all the scans again. He's not normally this cautious but he's remembering the last night with Clara and everything that happened now that's he's back in the present. Finally, he takes a deep breath. "You're not going to run into her old man," he tells himself sternly, "There's an ocean separating you!"

Cautiously he steps out of the TARDIS. He's not exactly sure how to do this without Clara – or any companion really. It's been so long since he's done anything in the present without a companion that he wonders what he should do. His companions act like his compass in the present. They know what is normal and what is unusual so he doesn't get sidetracked chasing ghosts.

 _Clara._ His breath catches. _No, she's on the other side of the Atlantic._ He bares his teeth in a grimace and steps into the crowds of people wandering down the street.

Now what? he wonders. No compass… He doesn't even know the normal climate in Toronto, whereas he might be able to guess at something odd happening in London. He pushes the thought aside. _Let's go sightseeing,_ he finally decides.

* * *

A/N - If anyone has any suggestions for a name for my male companion, I will field them. I don't have a name yet so I'd appreciate your help. We'll meet him next chapter. Thanks for reading! Please review!


	2. Adrift

**A/N - Hello lovelies! A new chapter! Yay! This chapter introduces Toby (my OC) and his first interaction with the Doctor. He's not explicitly named but I'm sure you can figure out who he is as you read. Please review and let me know whether you like what I'm doing! Cheers! (and enjoy!)**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who.**

* * *

The Doctor ambles down the street. He's only been here for a few moments and already he feels like something is wrong. _Well, of course, something is wrong,_ he thinks, _The TARDIS wouldn't have landed here if everything was fine._ He watches everyone and everything around him, trying to figure out what is out of place.

The street is busy. People crowd the sidewalks, bumping against each other. Their eyes avoid eye contact with anyone they aren't travelling with. The movement of the crowds is normal for the most part but there are discrepancies, the Doctor decides. For example, some of the pedestrians are given a wide berth. No one goes near them. They aren't touched or jostled intentionally or unintentionally even if they are walking down the street with everyone else. The Doctor frowns. Why? he asks himself.

Finally, he notices the tattoos on almost half the faces. It's a white pentagram centred over the right eye. Anyone with this tattoo avoids those without the tattoos. He pulls out his screwdriver to take a reading. As he activates it, anyone with the tattoo in close proximity to him jerks away and glares at him hostilely. He grimaces. _I didn't plan that,_ he thinks and slips the screwdriver back in his pocket before moving away quickly. People continue to give him a wide berth, though, as if his actions have somehow marked him. Eventually, he pauses in a square and sits down on an empty bench.

On an impulse, he looks up at the buildings surrounding him. _SRC Solutions! Keep your demons and angels at bay!_ proclaim the large billboards stuck to the sides of tall buildings. The Doctor frowns. _What is the SRC?_ he wonders. He looks around the square trying to note anything else unusual going on.

His eyes settle on a young man leaning against a building on the other side of the square. He doesn't have one of the weird white tattoos that seem to be in fashion right now and he scowls every time someone with one of the tattoos passes by.

On an impulse, he stands up and makes his way over to the young man. As he approaches, the Doctor examines the slim young man. His brown hair is a couple of inches long and falls messily onto his crown. His eyes are a piercing green. He looks to be about 5'11" but since he's slouching he could be taller than that. His face is wrinkle-free and round with youth so he can't be older than his mid-twenties. Besides, his clothes are too casual for him to be older. He's wearing ripped jeans and a faded blue t-shirt that says "Have you tried turning it off and on again?"

The Doctor chuckles. "Ah, the solution to all technical problems," he says. The young man glances at him and scowls before turning away.

"Go away," he snaps.

"Antisocial are we?" the Doctor asks. There is a pause as the young man resists the urge to turn around and scowl at him. "Relax. I'll leave. In a moment. I just want to ask you some questions."

"No. Ask someone else."

"Why do all these people have that tattoo?"

"No comment."

"What is SRC Solutions?"

"Leave."

"Answer my questions and I will."

"No. Go ask someone else."

"No."

The young man turns and glares at the Doctor. "Fine. I'm leaving."

"I'm coming with you."

The young man throws his hands up in the air in exasperation and finally turns to face the Doctor scowling. "Fine. Ask your questions. Then leave."

The Doctor smiles slightly. "I'm just in town for business but I'm curious about the tattoos on everyone's faces."

"Protection," the young man says simply, "Next."

"Protection from what?" the Doctor asks curiously.

"Demons."

The Doctor snorts loudly. "Demons don't exist."

The young man laughs bitterly. He pushes his hair back from his face and grimaces. "No, but SRC has convinced everyone they do."

"The SRC?"

"Security Revelations Corporation," the young man sighs, "Look, if you want to know more go to the subway."

"Why?" the Doctor asks, "What's going on in the subway?"

The young man shrugs. "See if I care. I don't go down there anymore."

"Why not?"

Green eyes flash angrily and the young man growls. "Because I don't. Now, can I leave or do you have any more questions?"

"You must have a reason," the Doctor says pointedly, "You said you don't go down there 'anymore,' which implies that you used to. So what happened in the subway to make you decide not to go there anymore?"

"That's none of your business. Why are you so interested in this anyway? You're in town for business – or so you say. It's likely you'll be gone before anything happens anyway. So why do you care?"

The Doctor smirks. "I'm in the business of the unusual and unexplainable."

The man's face blanches. "You're not— you're not SRC," he stammers as he backs away from the Doctor and glances around for an escape route. He's so intent on keeping an eye on the Doctor though that he trips over the bench he'd been sitting on earlier.

The Doctor frowns. "No. I'm the Doctor. I fix things."

The young man laughs bitterly. "You fix things."

The Doctor nods.

"You're insane."

"Why are you scared then? Why do the SRC and all of these people with tattoos scare you so much? What happened in the Subway?"

"Demons." The young man says simply and takes off.

The Doctor curses and chases after him but the young man knows what he's doing and disappears into a crowd of shoppers. The Doctor whirls around searching for the messy hair and faded blue tee but he's disappeared. The Doctor heads back to the bench where they'd been talking and sits down muttering to himself grumpily.

People are staring at him warily out of the corner of their eyes now and giving him a wide berth. The Doctor sighs. He supposes he did just run after someone and is now talking to himself like a madman so he can't really object to their sentiment. It's just… he doesn't think that's the whole story. There's something about those tattoos that worries him. He needs to get to the bottom of what the SRC is and figure out what is happening in the subway.

With another sigh, the Doctor jumps up and heads off toward a sign that indicates the entrance to the subway. He might as well start there.


	3. Direction

**A/N - Hello Hello. I'm going to try to keep updating at this pace. I dunno... Now that's said I probably won't post for like a month. Also, the chapters will continue to be fairly short. I seem to max out at just over 1,000 words per chapter. Anyway, I hope you enjoy. Read and Review. As always,**

 **Flames4Thought**

 **Disclaimer: Nothing's changed**

* * *

The Doctor flashes his psychic paper at the attendant. "Routine inspection," he says, flashing a smile at the woman. He notices her take a look at his unmarked face and scowl.

"I'm sorry but that paper is blank," she says stiffly, "Now please pay or stop wasting my time and leave. Preferably leave."

"What do you mean the paper is blank? Of course, it's not blank! I'm an inspector here to do a routine sweep of the station!" the Doctor shouts.

The woman blinks at him and her eyes flicker to the piece of paper he thrusts under her nose. "I'm sorry sir," she sneers, "That paper is blank. Now please pay or leave. You're holding up the line."

The Doctor blinks. The psychic paper has rarely failed him in the past. Suddenly he gasps and pulls his screwdriver out and scans the woman's tattoo through the glass. She shrieks and jumps backward before pressing a red button on the wall.

The Doctor ignores her and begins to mutter to himself. He spins in a circle thinking hard. "Curious," he says, "In-built resistance to psychic suggestion… What do those tattoos do?"

He's broken from his thoughts by the woman's shrill voice. "There," she shrieks, "That man. There's something wrong with him. He doesn't have the pentagram! I think he might be possessed."

The Doctor looks up and sees two security officers making their way over to him. "Sir," one of them says, "I think you need to leave now."

"Gentlemen," he says, glancing at them, "I think there's been some misunderstanding…"

"And we think you'd be better off leaving," the security officer says sternly.

"But…"

"Leave now," the other officer spits, "Or we'll lock you up in a cell."

The Doctor holds up his hands carefully. "Right," he says, "I'm very sorry gentlemen. I'll be on my way now." He turns to walk away.

"And sir," the first officer calls after him, "You might consider getting a pentagram from SRC… It's dangerous down here. We wouldn't want any harm to befall you."

The Doctor whirls around. "What sort of harm?" he queries.

The two men look at each other with raised eyebrows. They both obviously think he's mad but answer anyway. "The demonic kind," the second one says, "The kind that damns your soul."

"Like the Paterson girl last week," the first one continues, "She refused to get the pentagram. Was very outspoken about it too."

"What happened to her?" the Doctor asks curiously.

"Mate, where have you been? Living under a rock? That story has been all over the news for days now," the second officer laughs, "She got torn apart down here. By demons."

"I just got into town," the Doctor replies absently, "I'm here on some business from the UK."

"Ah," the second officer says, "That explains it. We heard it's not so bad over there."

"What's not so bad?"

"Christ, man," the first officer explains, "You really have been out of touch haven't you? The demon invasion, of course. That's why the SRC offers protective pentagram tattoos. To protect us all from the demons."

The Doctor grimaces. "Right," he says quickly, "It isn't bad over in the UK at all so I'd forgotten. Very sorry for the trouble officers. I'll be on my way now." He turns away again and quickly leaves the station. Once he's outside he starts to pat his pockets for change. He needs to actually get into the subway station so he can get a feel for what is going on.

Abruptly he realizes that any money he has is English and probably won't work here in Canada. With a sigh, he heads back to the TARDIS to grab some money. He doesn't normally have to resort to tactics like that… the psychic paper works 99% of the time and the odd times it doesn't it doesn't matter because he has a companion with him who normally has money. With that thought, he aches for Clara all over again before he pushes her aside and out of his thoughts.

*DW*

The Doctor sucks his breath in as he scans the screens above the TARDIS's console. He's decided to run a search for any mention of the SRC or demons while he's in the TARDIS getting money and as far as he can tell the company (and demons) only appeared a little over two months ago.

The Paterson girl – Rachel – is the latest in a long line of mysterious and bloody deaths in the subway. The Doctor bites his lip trying to connect the dots between supposed demons, the SRC, strange tattoos, and Rachel Paterson. A photo of the pretty brunette laughing – her arm flung around a young man about the same age catches the Doctor's eye. His eyes widen as he recognizes the messy brown hair and piercing green eyes. It's the young man he talked to earlier. The Doctor reads the caption under the photo: " _Rachel Alice Paterson and her twin brother, Tobias Jaxon, heading home from their high school graduation. Photo provided by Brent Paterson, the twin's father._ "

"So you won't go into the subway because of your sister, huh?" the Doctor mutters to himself. He reads the article about Rachel's death curiously. His mouth compresses into a thin white line as he reads.

Rachel, it appears, was a bright young woman in her mid-twenties – the rising star at a consulting firm – who had been denouncing the credibility of the SRC very publicly since they appeared out of thin air, claiming to have a solution to the demon problem. The popular opinion of the press was that Rachel's sudden death is a tragic accident and further proof that there is a demon problem in Toronto. The article ends with a rather blatant advertisement of the SRC's services and reminding readers that if they truly want to be protected from the demon threat they should get that silly pentagram tattooed on their faces.

The Doctor, personally, highly doubts that Rachel's death was random or even accidental. He rather thinks that Rachel's death is a result of her opposition of the SRC rather than anything else and that she was targeted. His rubs his face wearily. Regardless of his thoughts, he needs to talk to Tobias again and force some answers out of him.


	4. Rendezvous

**A/N: So it took me way longer to get this written than I intended. It's frustrating because I have a vague plot outlined and character development and everything… I just don't know how to write it. Hopefully you enjoy this. No promises on when the next update will be except there will be an update at some point.**

 **Cheers,**

 **Flames4Thought**

* * *

The Doctor walks purposefully toward Dundas Square pondering everything he's learned about the SRC and the supposed demon invasion. He notices that people who have decided to brand themselves with the SRC's protection have started to avoid him as harshly as the people who have decided to forsake the protection. They hadn't before… at least not until he'd tried to use his sonic screwdriver. He sighs and shoves his hands into his deep pockets. There must be some sort of software linking all of the tattoos, constantly updating perceived threats.

He's so lost in thought, he doesn't notice the person following him until he's grabbed roughly by the arm and dragged into an alley. "Honestly! People—" the Doctor snaps, turning on the person and blinking as he comes face-to-face with the young man from the square – Tobias.

"Well, well, well. Tobias Paterson," the Doctor says gruffly.

"Yes… Toby," Tobias says shortly, examining the Doctor closely. There's a long awkward pause as they both regard each other closely. Toby is still wearing his faded blue tee and jeans. He shoves his hands in his pockets and mimics the Doctor's stance. "I saw what you did in the subway," he says finally.

"I'm not sure I did anything," the Doctor says, "I didn't exactly make it in or find anything out."

"My point is they didn't trust you," Toby snaps. He glares toward the entrance of the alley where crowds of people branded with that pentagram drift past.

"No, they didn't," the Doctor agrees, "So the enemy of my enemy is my friend?"

"Something like that," Toby smiles thinly.

"You followed me," the Doctor states bluntly.

Toby jerks his head in a nod. "I was afraid…"

"That you were going to face the same fate as your sister, Rachel?" the Doctor says. Toby shudders and nods jerkily again.

"The Unmarked are spies sometimes… If they can't afford the tattoo but want it," Toby says, "That's why she was targeted. She was careful but she talked to the wrong person."

"I would have thought she placed a giant target on her back the moment she spoke out," the Doctor says mildly, watching as Toby winces and grimaces.

"She was always impulsive," Toby whispers, "I tried to get her to wait… It was too soon but they were gaining momentum and she thought if she waited it would be too late."

The Doctor nods. "Tell me about the demons," he says after a moment of silence.

"They're in the subway. People are targeted randomly… or at least the SRC would have us believe the deaths are random but you look at the names and start talking to the employees on the subway lines and every single person killed vocally dismissed the priests in the subway or spoke out against the SRC in some way. No one marked with the tattoo has died… yet."

"Because no one with one has spoken out yet?"

Toby shrugged and looks toward the alley entrance nervously again. He swallows and looks back at the Doctor. "It's not safe to talk here," he says quietly, "There are ears everywhere." He turns abruptly and walks swiftly toward the street and the Doctor follows.

Toby gestures for the Doctor to keep a distance behind him and they quickly make their way out of the square pretending to be two people that just happen to be going in the same direction. Eventually, Toby indicates that the Doctor should head into a different alley as he continues walking. The Doctor slips into the alley and waits.

After a few minutes, Toby taps on his shoulder. Toby runs a few steps before launching himself up and vaulting on top of a dumpster. Once there he leaps and grasps the bottom of the fire escape stairs so they swing to the ground. "After you," he says.

The Doctor starts up the stairs and Toby follows him. Once they reach the roof, Toby continues along the roof and down fire escape at the end of the building. "Is this really necessary?" the Doctor asks.

The look Toby fixes on the Doctor is grim. "You have no idea," he says. They continue to twist and turn through the city until Toby finally stops at a decrepit building and punches in a code to unlock the door. They make their way up to the second floor and Toby unlocks a door and ushers the Doctor in.

"Home sweet home," Toby says bitterly as the almost bare apartment is revealed. The Doctor eyes the grey walls skeptically.

"Home?" he asks.

Toby shrugs. "It's a place where they can't find me. Or haven't yet," he says, "My apartment was trashed the day Rachel d-died."

"Connected?"

"You think?" Toby snarled.

"I was merely asking you what you thought. No need to jump down my throat," the Doctor says mildly.

Toby grimaces and his hands spasm as they clench and release quickly. "They left a note," Toby snarls.

He pulls a worn sheet of paper out of his back pocket and thrusts it toward the Doctor. The Doctor unfolds the paper slowly and smooths out the creases carefully. A photo drops to the floor as he does so and he bends over to retrieve it. He glances at the photo curiously and it shows a time stamped surveillance photograph of Toby and his sister hugging outside an underground station. The date is the same as Rachel's death, probably minutes beforehand. The Doctor puts the paper down frowning and glances at the note. WE'RE WATCHING is written in large capital letters. The threat behind the message and the photograph are clear. Speak out and you'll meet the same fate as your sister.

"Right," the Doctor says, looking up at Toby, "So you moved immediately? How do you know they don't know you're here?"

Toby shakes his head. "I stayed a couple more days," he says, "They started sending me text messages with photos of me every few hours. They stopped as soon as I moved."

"That doesn't mean they don't know where you are," the Doctor points out.

A grimace. "I don't think so," Toby mutters, rubbing his face tiredly, "All the photos were in close proximity to the subway and I started avoiding those and any place I used to go frequently. I think they were from surveillance cameras used by the public transit for the most part…"

"Mmm," the Doctor muses glancing down at the photograph again, "You realize there aren't actually demons right?"

"Then tell me how my sister died," Toby snapped, "I saw the body. Someone would have to be pretty sick to do something like that and besides she died within minutes of that photo being taken. There wasn't enough time for anything _human_ to do that."

"I didn't say a human did this," the Doctor said, "But it wasn't demons. Aliens like to masquerade as demons in the presence of humans sometimes because it's so much easier manipulate you gullible fools when you're being led around by your silly religions."

Toby bristles at the Doctor. "You talk as if you weren't human yourself," he hisses.

The Doctor blinks and realizes that he has probably just offended the young man unintentionally. "I'm not," he says simply.


End file.
